CUBA: HURRICANE 18 May 2005 CHARLEY The Federation’s mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world’s largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in over 181 countries. In Brief Appeal No. 20/04; Operations Update no. 2; Period covered: 21 January 2005 to 22 April 2005; Appeal coverage: 9.1%; (click here to go directly to the attached Contributions List, also available on the website). Appeal history: · Launched on 8 September 2004 for CHF 2,419,000 (USD 1,905,168 or EUR 1,576,163) for 6 months to assist 25,000 beneficiaries (5,000 families). · Appeal timeframe extended for four months to 8 July 2005 · Disaster Relief Emergency Funds (DREF) allocated: CHF 100,000 Outstanding needs: CHF 2,121,323 (USD 1,824,674 o EUR 1,398,709) Related Emergency or Annual Appeals: Caribbean: Hurricane Ivan Emergency Appeal (21/04) Operational Summary: To date, efforts to assist beneficiaries affected by Hurricane Charley have focused mainly on the distribution of zinc sheeting. Thus far, 13,349 sheets have been distributed in the municipalities of Guira de Melena and Alquizar in the province of La Habana. In total 341 homes have been repaired, benefiting 1,254 people. In addition, 20 generators have been distributed to branches of the Cuban Red Cross (CRC) to strengthen the response capacity of the National Society. In April, a water safety workshop was carried out in the capital city of Havana to increase the capacity of the Cuban Red Cross’ Water Safety Programme. Activities in this emergency appeal have been limited by a serious lack of funding, as only 9.1 percent of the total requested amount has been received. Additional funds are urgently needed to ensure that the needs of beneficiaries affected by Hurricane Charley are sufficiently met. Given the lack of funding and the slow pace of implementation, the appeal timeframe has been extended for four months to 8 July 2005. For further information specifically related to this operation please contact: · In Cuba: Cuban Red Cross, Dr. Luis Foyo Ceballos, Executive President; email [email protected], phone (53) 7 228 272, fax (53) 7 228 272 · In Panama: Xavier Castellanos, Regional Disaster Management Delegate, Panama Regional Delegation; email [email protected], phone (507) 317-1300, fax (507) 317-1304 · In Geneva: Luis Luna, Federation Regional Officer, Americas Department, Geneva; email [email protected], phone (41 22) 730-4273, fax (41 22) 733-0395 All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for a full description of the national society profile, please access the Federation’s website at http://www.ifrc.org 0068E/08.03.04 Cuba: Hurricane Charley; Appeal no. 20/04; Operations Update no. 2 2 Background On 13 August 2004, Cuba was severely impacted by the passage of Hurricane Charley which hit at 12.15 hours in the region of Punta Cayama, between Guanimar and El Cajío, on the south coast of the Province of La Habana. Hurricane Charley, a category 3 storm, hit the Provinces of Ciudad de la Habana and La Habana with fierce winds of 170 kph and squalls of over 200 kph. The passage of the storm resulted in flooding of low-lying areas of the south coast, in particular in the Province of La Habana. In anticipation of the storm, the Civil Defence ensured evacuation of 215,532 people from high-risk areas, of whom 35,794 took refuge in temporary shelters, whilst the remainder stayed with families and friends. As a result of the passage of Hurricane Charley, over 70,000 homes incurred damage and thousands of hectares of crops were spoiled. Early reports indicate that around 8,000 trees were uprooted and 95 per cent of sugarcane, bean and banana crops have been seriously affected. The electricity, water and telephone networks were also severely affected. In addition, in the two Provinces, 798 schools and 312 health centres were damaged. Incoming damage reports indicated that the Province of La Habana was the most severely affected by the Hurricane. Search and rescue operations have been finalized. The Cuban authorities undertook preventive measures to avoid the outbreak of disease, given the damage to health centres. Red Cross volunteers worked to support these government initiatives. In the Province of Pinar del Río, telephone communication was interrupted over an eleven day period, although, overall, the Province was less affected by the passage of the hurricane. The current situation in the capital where water is trucked in with tankers is not linked to the hurricane, but rather to drought conditions which were prevalent before Hurricane Charley hit the country. Nevertheless, water systems were further disrupted as a result of the force of the Hurricane. Operational developments The Cuban Red Cross and the Federation have been working together with government authorities from the Department of International Relations to ensure the provision of wood materials needed complete the installation of zinc sheeting in areas affected by the passage of Hurricane Charley. The CRC has also been working with the government to ensure the provision of fuel for the transportation of zinc sheeting from storage warehouses to the selected communities. Red Cross and Red Crescent action - objectives, progress, impact Shelter Objective 1: 5,000 beneficiary families (25,000 people) will be able to return to the ir homes as a result of the replacement or repair of damaged roofs. Progress/Achievements (activities implemented within this objective) Since the last operations update, 100 families, or approximately 300 people, have been able to move out of shelters and back into their homes. There are currently 132 people still living in shelters and are receiving assistance from the authorities and the Cuban Red Cross. The Cuban government is constructing new homes in safer areas for those families still remaining in shelters as the locations of their previous homes have been deemed unsafe. To date, 341 families (1,254 beneficiaries) have received roofing materials. Additional support for this relief operation is needed to ensure that the needs of all the most seriously affected beneficiaries are met. Zinc sheeting has been distributed as follows: Province of La Habana—Municipality of Guira de Melena (32,000 inhabitants) Community Sheets delivered Number of families Total beneficiaries Roofs completed Ubald Díaz 1,668 40 134 40 Niceto Pérez 1,086 28 101 28 Vivian Alonso 1,036 29 104 29 Cajio 947 27 102 27 Gabriel 1,011 37 143 37 0068E/08.03.04 Cuba: Hurricane Charley; Appeal no. 20/04; Operations Update no. 2 3 Junco 1,010 29 118 29 Total 6,758 190 702 190 Province of La Habana— Municipality of Alquizar (29,000 inhabitants) Community Sheets delivered Number of families Total beneficiaries Roofs completed Consejo Norte 1,211 31 115 31 Consejo Sur 1,211 26 94 26 Dagame 695 18 53 18 Caimito 86 1 4 1 Pulido Guanima 3,338 75 286 75 Total 6,591 151 552 151 Impact The Cuban Red Cross has been able to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable members of the population by providing them with shelter materials to enable them to return to their homes; 190 roofs have been repaired in the municipality of Guira de Melena and another 151 roofs have been completed in the municipality of Alquizar. Families in these areas have expressed their gratitude towards the Red Cross and government authorities have acknowledged the support they have received from the Red Cross. Constraints The installation of zinc sheeting was delayed because the wood needed for their installation, which was provided by the government, did not arrive on time. Once the wood was made available, the installation went ahead as planned. In addition, the severe lack of funding for this operation has meant that only a small fraction of the beneficiaries originally selected to receive shelter materials have been assisted. Emergency Relief (Non-food items) Objective 1: 5,000 beneficiary families (25,000 people) will have benefited from the distribution of non-food items . This objective seeks to provide non-food relief items to vulnerable beneficiaries that lost all their belongings as a result of the hurricane. Items to be distributed are as follows: sheets, towels, mattresses, kitchen kits and kerosene stoves which will help people resume their normal lives. Unfortunately, no distributions have been carried out to date because of a lack of funding for this emergency operation. Strengthening of response capacities Objective 1: Both Cuban Red Cross branches in the Province of La Habana and the targeted communities will have been strengthened. Progress/Achievements (activities implemented within this objective) A total of 20 generators have been distributed to and installed in the following branches of the Cuban Red Cross: Community Generators Pinar del Rio 2 Santiago de Cuba 3 La Habana 1 Villa Clara 1 Granma 2 Sancti Spiritus 1 Guantánamo 1 Camagüey 2 Cienfuegos 1 Holguín 3 Ciego de Ávila 1 CRC headquarters 1 Held in reserve 1 0068E/08.03.04 Cuba: Hurricane Charley; Appeal no. 20/04; Operations Update no. 2 4 Total 20 A national water safety workshop was carried out in the capital city of La Havana from 5-7 April with the participation of 17 water rescue personnel from the Cuban Red Cross’ water safety programme. These personnel came from all 14 provinces and the municipality of Isla de la Juventud.